Adobong Pusit (Squid Adobo)
A seafood variation of the delightful classic Filipino adobo. This divine squid stew is so delicious, you’ll be incessantly uttering “umami” til your next meal.
Equipment
- Food safe kitchen gloves
- 3 Prep bowls
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs / 1 kg squid sliced if large
- ½ cup soy sauce 125ml
- ½ cup sugarcane vinegar 125ml
- 1 cup water 250ml
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil 15ml
- 1 small onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 4 finger chillies optional
- Squid ink harvested from cleaning the squid
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar heaped
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorn
- 3 pieces dried bay leaves
Instructions
Clean & prepare the squid
- Remove the head and innards. Hold the tail in one hand and the head in the other. Pull the two apart with a slight twisting motion. Use a paper towel if needed to help add some grip while holding the squid. The innards will come out right along with the head.
- Remove the ink sack and harvest the ink. This is where your trusty gloves will come in handy as squid ink stains. It may also be a good idea to don an apron and cover any porous surfaces. Now look for a small black vein within the innards. Remove the squid ink vein with a small sharp knife. Puncture the sack and drain the ink into a small bowl with a bit of water. There’s also some ink behind the eyes, so you can harvest those as well if you wish. Now you can discard the innards.
- Cut off the tentacles from the head. Using a sharp knife and chopping board remove the tentacles. Place the knife just underneath the eyes of the squid and cut all the way through to detach the tentacles from the head. Discard the head.
- Remove the beak and discard. Like the cartilage, the squid’s beak is inedible. It’s located at the base of the tentacles, where the tentacles meet the head. To remove it, squeeze the area around the beak and it should pop right out. Discard the beak and set the tentacles aside.
- Remove the cartilage and discard. Place two fingers inside the tail (or body) and grip the cuttlebone. It should come out easily and in one piece. Discard it.
- Remove the skin. (Optional). This step is optional as the skin is edible. Removing it is really for aesthetic purposes only. Cut a shallow slice into the skin to get started. The skin should easily peel away from the flesh.
- All that should be left now are the tentacles and tail tube. Wash them both thoroughly, and set aside in a bowl.
- If using large squid, cut into smaller pieces.
Cooking Method
- In a saucepan add soy sauce, vinegar and water. Turn the heat on and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling add the squid and cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove the squid and set aside on a plate or in a bowl.
- Reserve the liquid mixture into a separate bowl and set aside.
- In the same saucepan, add and heat oil.
- Sauté onions and garlic.
- Add tomatoes and saute.
- Optional: On a chopping board or clean countertop, roll the chillies to release the seeds inside. Add the chillies and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the squid and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the liquid mixture that was aside in step 4.
- Bring to a boil uncovered. Let boil for a minute. Then turn down the heat to a simmer.
- Add the squid ink, sugar, peppercorns and bay leaves.
- Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes or until the squid becomes tender.
- Turn the heat off.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes
- I highly recommend that you use small squid for this recipe as they have more flavour than the larger kind. If you can’t find the smaller squid, make sure that you cut the large ones into smaller pieces.
- There are two ways to ensure that squid doesn’t become chewy and over cooked. The first is to cook it for 2 minutes (or less) over high heat. The other is to cook it for at least 30 minutes to an hour to re-tenderize. This is the method I like to use for this recipe (stewing over a longer period of time), as squid has the incredible ability to immerse with the ingredients that it's cooked with.
- Since the recipe calls for squid ink, I recommend regular all purpose (light) soy sauce for this recipe. An alternative would be gluten-free soy sauce such as Kikkoman Gluten-Free Soy Sauce and San-J Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce for those with wheat allergies and/or sensitivities.
- I also recommend using sugarcane vinegar to compliment the umami flavours from the squid ink. But if you don’t have any sugarcane vinegar, you can also use regular white vinegar.
- Make sure that your saucepan is uncovered when you bring your mixture to a boil for the second time (step 11). This will help to reduce and thicken the adobo sauce.